Running Home - Zari's Arrival
by TitaniaSarys
Summary: Sara and Ava adopt their seventh child: Zari. And of course, shenanigans ensue in the Lance-Sharpe household. Part 1 of the series "Running Home".


This is the first small one-shot of a series. Each one-shot will be about everyday adventures in the Lance-Sharpe household, some might focus on one character specifically (since I can't wait to get into their pasts and stuff), others will be about the entire family just living their weird crazy awesome life. Some things will be canon with what happens on Legends and other DC shows (like the fact that Oliver and Sara dated at some point but Oliver was never with Laurel), other characters will be mentioned as well and tags will vary from one fic to another. I did change a few things for each character to adapt their story to this AU, but I hope they are still in character.

Here's a list of all the members of the Lance-Sharpe household to help you keep track of them:

\- Sara Lance (35 yo) called Mama or Captain  
\- Ava Sharpe (36 yo) called Mom or Director  
\- Mick Rory (17 yo)  
\- John Constantine (16 yo)  
\- Charlie Jiwe (16 yo)  
\- Zari Tomaz (15 yo)  
\- Ray Palmer (15 yo)  
\- Mona Wu (14 yo)

* * *

It was one of those days Sara was grateful all of their kids were teenagers and could take care of themselves when she and Ava had to go out on a Saturday morning. It was quiet in the Lance-Sharpe household (which Ava refused to call Sharpe-Lance) as pretty much everyone was asleep. When Sara made her way downstairs, Ava was already busy in the kitchen, a fresh pot of coffee waiting and toasts pilling up on a plate in the middle of the kitchen isle while she prepared the pan for pancakes.

"Mornin'" Sara said before swiftly grabbing a mug and filling it with coffee.

"Jesus, Sara!" Ava let out, the spoon she was holding clattering to the floor while her wife smirked from across the kitchen isle. "You've got to stop scaring me with your ninja tricks. I'm telling you, one day I'm going to have a heart attack!"

Sara simply smiled and stole a kiss from her wife before wrapping her arms around her from behind, a toast already in her mouth.

"Hmmm, fanfakes," Sara hummed, her mouth full of toast.

"What was that?" Ava laughed.

"Pancakes."

Sara then looked at the clock above the microwave. Usually, only one of them was good at something. Ava loved cooking and Sara loved eating, although she didn't mind doing the dishes. Sara would rather mop and hoover and Ava didn't mind washing the windows. Ava always took care of the groceries while Sara was handy around the house and could fix pretty much anything, although she was hopeless when it came to technology, something that Ava used to tease her about. They completed each other, but keeping a track of time was something they both were really good at.

For Ava, it was a part of her personality, the organized control freak she was always needed to know the time, how much was left, how much had already past. Sara used to make fun of her for that until they had children and since Sara had the lighter schedule, she was the one who generally spend most time with the kiddos, although Ava always did her best to spend as much time with her family as she could. So Sara had learned to always keep a track of time, when school ended, at what time Mick's game started, when she needed to drop Charlie to her band practice and so on.

"We still got thirty minutes before we have to go," Ava said, smiling when she noticed Sara looking at the clock. "I figured we'd better be there earlier to get to know her."

"Or we could take a couple minutes to enjoy ourselves," Sara whispered to her ear, having to rise on her tiptoes to reach the taller woman's ear and teasingly nibbling on the earlobe. "It's probably gonna be one hell of a day and we won't have time for that later."

Ava was about to answer when they heard a "Gross!" coming from the stairs.

A disheveled Ray sat at the giant table in the dining room which was only separated from the kitchen by the kitchen isle.

"Yeah Ray, gross!" Charlie mocked him and playfully bumped her brother in the shoulder before pouring herself a healthy dose of pineapple juice, to which she added a spoon of small marshmallows. Ray grimaced at her mix before sitting down with a plate of pancakes.

"Good morning to you too," Sara said, her hair already pulled in a ponytail, her day clothes on her back.

"You goin' somewhere?" Charlie asked once she downed half of her glass, wolfing down all of the marshmallows in one go. She sighed when Ava pushed a plate of toast towards her with a pointed look telling her that hell would rain down if she pulled the 'I'm not hungry mom' excuse again. Charlie wasn't trying to lose weight; she just had the tendency of skipping breakfast which had resulted in several fainting spells in the past couple of years. She wasn't really doing it on purpose; she just wasn't really hungry and sometimes forgot to eat, especially when she overslept. But more often than not, it became this little ritual that allowed Charlie to rile her mothers up, especially Ava, and Charlie needed this little banter when she woke up too early for her tastes, like that day.

"Yep, to pick up your new sister," Sara reminded her, Charlie making a silent O with her mouth before bitting a bit of her toast and showing it to Ava who nodded appreciatively before pointing at the rest of the plate.

"Yay! A new sibling!" Mona yelled before she was down the stairs. Sara handed her a hot cocoa mug. She then settled next to Ray who passed her the cereals while Ava drank her own coffee with milk while Sara preferred hers black without sugar. Unlike her wife, she was still in her bathrobe because she knew she could get dressed in ten minutes, something Sara had a hard time doing. Out of the two of them, Sara generally took most time to get ready because she would always get distracted despite the fact that her preparations should take less time than Ava's.

Mick was next and greeted everyone with a grunt when he sat next to Charlie, ignoring her teasing at his "awfully grumpy mug". Sara waited a couple more seconds for their last teen to get down before turning to Mick.

"John's not up yet, is he?"

Since Mick's and John's rooms were right next to each other and the walls were way too thin, each young man had a generally good idea of what the other was doing during the day and night. Both heavy sleepers, they were usually the last ones up, but John seemed to have outdone himself that day.

"I'll get him," Sara whispered before ruffling Ray's hair, kissing Mona's forehead, giving Charlie the household's secret dap and gently patting Mick on the shoulder. She always made sure to make all her children know that she cared about every single one of them, even for something as small as a greeting at breakfast. It hadn't been easy to understand every teen's preference for affection and such, but she was proud to say that she had the hang of it now. Although it was about to change with the new addition to the family.

While Ava explained to everyone what they were supposed to do –and especially not to do- while they were gone, getting into her drill sergeant mode, Sara knocked on John's bedroom door before slowly pushing it open. The boy didn't answer, his face pressed into his pillow in a way that made Sara wonder how he could breathe. She opened the blinds, letting the light flood the room before whistling at the chaos in the room. John wasn't known for his tidiness, even after agreeing to all the rules of the Lance-Sharpe household, but the current state of his room was something new.

Drawings and books were mostly strewn everywhere while dirty clothes littered the floor. The young man was currently sprawled sideways on his bed, his left arm hanging out while his right leg was bent against the wall. Sara picked one of the drawings which represented some winged creature looking like a demon. She had never questioned John's artistic interests, mostly because she wasn't one to judge but also because John had been one hell of a mess when they got him. His past was as dark as his art and Sara was always surprised at how damn good he was at it. His drawings and paintings were always realistic with that haunted glint in them that sometimes made Ava shiver.

They never questioned their son about it, waiting for him to open up if he wanted to. It had taken John an entire year to trust them enough to show them his drawings and he was very hesitant at first. But the more Sara and Ava praised his art, the more confident he became and he would now show them at least one drawing a month. He even made a nice family drawing of all of them for his mothers' wedding anniversary that year and it hung above the not functional fireplace in the living room. That drawing with the occasional portraits he did were the only exceptions that weren't dark and grim.

Sara gently shook him until he woke, looking confused and blinking rapidly. Sara swore under her breath when she realized he had sweated profusely during the night –probably because of a nightmare- and hadn't bothered changing clothes from the previous day, wearing the same beige shirt. From what she could remember, John had always worn shirts, even in the summer. It was one of the things that Sara loved the most about her children, that they all had they quirks, making them all weird in their own ways, which was why, according to her, they all fit so well together. She probably had the weirdest quirks of them all now that she thought about it.

"Wake up, John. You're going to miss breakfast."

"Don't care," he mumbled in his pillow.

"Come on, everyone's already downstairs. Today's very important, you're getting a new sister so move it!" She was tempted to flip his mattress but with the way it was stuck against the wall, she wasn't sure how she'd manage that. Instead, she pulled the pillow right from under his head.

"Ma!" John yelled, his accent slipping through.

"Get up, change clothes and… actually scratch that and take a shower. Oh and open the window, it smells as if something died in here! Then go down, mom will tell you what chores you've got to do while we're gone. Although I think that cleaning up your room will take most of your time."

When Sara left his room, she heard Ava in the biggest bathroom –the house having actually two because of all the people living in it- and went down. Breakfast was finished for most people and Ray even got started on cleaning, like he always did each morning when they didn't have school. Of all her children, he was the only one who actually enjoyed cleaning. Sara then noticed Mick taking his second cup of coffee and covered his hand with her own before grabbing the pot.

"I think that's enough coffee for one morning."

Mick just grunted and left the table until Sara cleared her throat loudly. Turning around, he grabbed his plate and placed it in the sink where Ray was already washing the dishes. "Sorry Mama," he said. He then proceeded to grab all the empty mugs and glasses into his big buff arms, way too big for a seventeen year old. "There you go Haircut," he said to Ray.

Sara nodded, glad that breakfast hadn't been a disaster that day. As in every family, there were good days and bad days but Sara didn't want to start this special day on the wrong foot. She always made sure that her children got a good first impression of their home.

"Ava tell you want you have to do?" Sara then asked Charlie who was lazily sprawled on the couch in the living room, Netflix already on the screen of their TV.

"Yep, don't worry Ma, we've got it. I'll take care of the numpties."

"Language," Sara warned her and Charlie just shrugged. "Alright, you keep an eye on the crew, but remember that Mick's in charge. Tell John what he has to do when he gets down."

Ava then joined them downstairs.

"You ready babe?"

"Let's go meet our new daughter," Sara answered, smiling.

* * *

"I have to warn you, this one's difficult," Kendra said as all three of them sat in her office.

Sara had been friends with Kendra way before she started working at Child Services. Kendra had even gone as far as to be Ava's witness at her and Sara's wedding because Ava didn't have anyone else and Laurel, Sara's sister, was already Sara's witness.

Ava had cut all ties with her family right after college when they wouldn't accept her sexuality. After trying to mend things for months, she moved to a new city, found a new job and met Sara after a few short and unhappy relationships. Sara on the other hand had always been supported by her family despite the fact that she was the only bisexual they knew. Quentin, Sara's father, had always liked Ava and had accepted her in his family the day Sara told her things were serious between them. He was more than happy to give Ava his blessing when she told him she wanted to propose to his daughter.

So Kendra was a longstanding friend. She had signed the adoption papers for every child the Lance-Sharpe couple had taken under their roof, all six of them and she was about to do the same thing for the seventh.

Sara laughed at Kendra's statement. "Have you seen us? We're used to difficult teens, the youngest we took in was twelve years old and I think Mick turned out just fine."

"How so?" Ava asked Kendra, always the professional one.

"I know," Kendra answered Sara before looking at Ava and then at the both of them. "Which is why I asked you first if you'd like to adopt a new child. I've seen your home and your children's progress, how well they are treated. I don't think John or Charlie would have turned out well if you hadn't taken them in."

Sara snorted at that, remembering how hellish it had been after those two adoptions and even Ava smiled before grabbing her wife's hand. Every adoption had been different and they did them all together, from Mick and Leonard five years prior to Mona last year.

"So, who is she?"

"Her name is Zari Tomaz. She arrived in the United States with her parents and brother five years ago. She's been to school, knows how to speak English like any other kid her age, she's actually shy from being a genius from what we can tell of her grades and other intelligence tests she has taken, although she never seemed to acknowledge that or use it."

"Well that's gonna be a nice change from Ray's science blabbering and gloating," Sara quipped.

"He's not so bad," Ava replied.

"Clearly you've never made the mistake of asking him to explain his science project while stuck in the car for an hour!"

Kendra smiled before showing the women Zari's file which Ava proceeded to read thoroughly while Sara just skimmed it.

"Three months ago, her entire family was killed. We believe it was because of her family's Muslim practices. Zari managed to escape and move from State to State. She told us she survived by stealing and hiding in abandoned cars."

Sara and Ava gulped. It wasn't the first time they took in a child that had lived on the streets, although in Charlie's case it had been worse and longer. "She wants to have a new family though, she's actually the one that came to us asking for help," Kendra finished. "I know that you usually don't hesitate to take in children the day you see them, and I'm grateful for that, but the procedure remains the same. She'll stay with you for about a week, we'll see how this goes and we'll figure it out from there. How does that sound?"

"Great. Can we see her?" Sara immediately asked.

The Lance-Sharpe couple was then led to another room where a young dark-haired girl sat playing with an old gameboy. Sara immediately recognized the sound of a Pokemon game and was surprised to see a green cartridge sticking out of the console. A huge smile appeared on her face.

"Which starter did you take?" she asked before sitting next to her, close enough so she could touch her if she extended her hand, but far enough so Zari wouldn't feel threatened.

Zari watched her for a couple of seconds, wondering if she was just making small talk or if she was genuinely curious. "Squirtle," she answered shyly, pulling her knees closer to her chest, her gameboy resting on top of it.

"It's a good choice, works well for the first gym."

Zari nodded, her eyes focused back on the game and Sara turned to Ava. The girl didn't really say much when Kendra introduced her new moms. Zari just shrugged when Ava asked her if she had everything she owned with her, shutting down her game and slipping it into the only bag she had with her which contained all her meager possessions. Kendra gave the two women some papers to review and sign and they were off with the new member of their family.

* * *

Not strangely enough, Zari was quiet during the ride home. For those forty minutes, Ava tried to coax some sentences out of her, but besides some vague shrugs and some quick answers, they got nothing out of the fifteen year old. But they were used to the silent treatment. Mick and Leonard had been as silent as tombs, Mick actually falling asleep during the ride, John had spent the entire drive looking out the window with a vacant stare as if he wasn't really there, Charlie had kept glaring at them while she ate all the candy she could from the bag Sara had produced out of her purse, Ray had been shy at first but by the end of the drive, he was an open book and Mona kept talking the whole time about Disney characters.

So after a couple more tries, Ava gave up and focused on the road, glacing at Sara as if saying 'you give it a try'. She knew it wasn't a failure that they hadn't managed to make Zari talk to them, but she always worried about making things right and had a hard time dealing with failures, especially when it came to her family. Ava hated being a disappointment. But Sara grabbed her hand and squeezed it, her ring glinting in the sunlight. That got Zari's attention.

"Can I ask you a question?" she asked.

"Sweetie, you don't have to ask for permission for that. You can ask all the questions you want," Ava answered, relieved.

"Are you really married?"

Sara laughed.

"Until death do us part."

That earned a frown from Zari.

"Why do you ask?"

Zari hesitated and looked through the window for a short while before she turned to Sara.

"In my religion it's… considered weird."

_That's one way to put it_, Sara thought. "What do you think about it?" she asked.

Zari seemed to think. "I don't mind it. You love each other, right?"

Sara was curious why Zari had asked that, but she felt it wasn't the right moment to question the girl. "To the moon and back," Sara answered for the both of them and Ava smiled, squeezing her hand before putting it back on the wheel, her straight position almost uncomfortable.

Zari just nodded and remained silent during the rest of the ride.

* * *

Despite everything that she had imagined, nothing could have prepared Zari for what awaited her in the Lance-Sharpe house. As soon as she saw her, Mona hugged her as tight as she could, squealing all the while. Ray was next, although he made it quick, not wanting to make it awkward and he even kept Mona back from hugging Zari again. Charlie immediately taught her their secret dap and Mick grunted a greeting. John said hi before Sara could destroy his shoulder with her inhuman foster mom strength.

The chaos continued when Ava and Sara realized that barely half the chores were done and that the house was not ready to welcome Zari, even though her room was. The girl found it all funny, but laughed on the inside as Sara chased Ray, John and Charlie around the house, waving that day's newspaper threateningly. Things only calmed down when lunch was served since Mick made a mess in the kitchen with Mona when they tried to help Ava. As Zari sat down in the chair that would be hers for years to come, she thought that maybe her new family wasn't so bad.


End file.
